The Independent News Source

Timothy Dolan

The media are the frequent target for many bishops in the church. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan sarcastically reported to his fellow bishops last week that the recent synod on the family in Rome was actually fairly boring despite the media's preoccupation with conflict emanating from the synod. The media, in the eyes of many bishops and laypeople, are always the bad actor when it comes to coverage of the church.

The New York archdiocese, with the second-largest Catholic population in the country and an unparalleled place in U.S. church history, is shrinking: Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Sunday announced that nearly a third of the archdiocese's 368 parishes would be merging, and some would close.

The New York archdiocese is on the verge of disclosing which of its 368 parishes will be closed or merged, after a lengthy review that started 2010. The changes were supposed be announced in September, but since the cardinal was going to be in Rome for most of October attending the synod on the family, the archdiocese pushed back the timing of the announcement.

The annual Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner was held Wednesday evening at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The event is a must-attend for the major luminaries of politics, finance and the church. It raises millions of dollars for programs to help children and the poor.